2003 - The Passing of My 86-Year-Old Mother - A Thai Farewell of Grace and Respect

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Six months after she had blessed the Viking of the Orient as its proud godmother, my mother passed away peacefully in Phuket at the age of eighty-six.

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Thai friends, hotel staff, our crew, and local monks came together to arrange a touching Buddhist farewell — simple, graceful, and filled with quiet dignity. Their warmth and compassion in that difficult moment remain among the kindest gestures I have ever experienced.

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It was then that I began to fully understand the true depth of Thai culture — how respect and empathy are expressed not in words, but in gentle actions. In their way, they gave my mother — and me — a final gift of peace.

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